“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Editors and the 3 second rule

So many editors out there don’t or won’t invest more than 3 seconds maybe if we’re lucky 5 seconds to read our work. It’s true! Sad, but true. Publishers and editors have so many books crossing their desk or inbox they don’t have the time to invest more than that.

So how do you get them to read our work?

You have to write the best opening line possible? Write it and rewrite it again until everyone that you’ve shared your work says wow. Don’t be afraid to seek lots of opinions before you submit because getting the truth from family and friends is a lot easier to take than that rejection letter or worse the silent treatment.

Here are some great opening lines, you’re probably familiar with already.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
― George Orwell, 1984

So how do we create lines like this I suggest you check out this Hooked by Les Edgerton. He provides a concise informative read to help us create great openers too!

“The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It’s just that simple.”~ Amazon